


Papyrus: Wanted Dead or Alive

by JellyFicsnFucks



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 07:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18047825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellyFicsnFucks/pseuds/JellyFicsnFucks
Summary: Hiatus~Fell wants to settle down and have kids with Blueberry, but Red isn't happy about this news. He can't cope with the fact his brother is moving on, so he selfishly goes on one last adventure with Papyrus. A different Papyrus. Stretch.Although Stretch is tagging along for his own selfish reasons too. He wants to get a little closer to Red... and the skeleton finally offered to show him around Underfell, so he can't refuse. It's a shame Papyrus is on every Wanted Board in the underground.





	Papyrus: Wanted Dead or Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for being gone from this fandom for so long.  
> I've taken some stories with me when I left, so please excuse the mess while I re-upload old work.  
> Thanks for voting on Twitter! I will be sure to upload all the incomplete messes ahahaa  
> I'm really surprised to have a following of people who like my stuff, so thank you for the love and support. The messages I've gotten mean the world to me and it makes me terrified to let you down.  
> ฅ(๑’Δ’๑) I'm really sorry to leave you hanging for so long. Thankyou.

“So… I heard from Berry that you and your bro had a fight?” 

Stretch squatted down on the front steps and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, offering them only to be met with a cold shoulder. No matter, he pulled one out for himself and lit it, taking a long drag of smoke that sat warmly through his freezing bones. It was beyond him why Red wanted to brood out here in the cold instead of in the house where there were a myriad of places to be alone. Stretch awkwardly waved at his neighbor while she passed by with groceries, the snow bunny tilted her head at the sight of an emo Sans but said nothing respectfully and continued on her way home.

“What, too cool to talk to me?” Stretch nudged his shoulder, joking but the silence was still unwelcome. Especially from his “boyfriend” - if they could even be called that. Some days it was hard enough just being Red’s friend, the skeleton was difficult about opening up to anyone.The only thing Stretch could do was stay by his side, let him know he wasn’t alone. 

Stretch resigned himself to that role, snuggling into his sweater for warmth. He was just starting to fall asleep when Red spoke. Stretch nearly choked on his cigarette. 

“Boss and Blue are having a kid.” 

“WHAT? ! -” Stretch spits up the burnt ash on his tongue and does a double take back at Red. “You’re kidding right- ? RIGHT? That fucking Edgelord stuck his filthy dick in my bro?! I’ll KILL HIM!” He starts to bunch his sleeves up, ready to start a fight but Red lays a hand on his shoulder. It melts his anger immediately to see Red reach out to him, bridging the gap in their flimsy relationship. Stretch squares his jaw and changes his tone. “I mean- I know he’s your brother Red, I wont ‘kill’ -kill him… I just... I need to have a word with him! How dare he sneak into Blue’s bedroom and deflower h-”

“Boss is pregnant, Stretch.” 

“Oh?” Stretch croons his neck down as if he didn’t hear it right the first time. Then he reels back as the brunt of those words register. “OH.” Suddenly the reason for Red’s brooding seems to have context. “ oh…. “ Stretch rolled down his sleeves and sat back down on the stairs. The hand leaves him and Red goes back to brooding, staring out at the forest and the occasional neighbor with a rude glare. 

“...I didn’t know they were already.. Um.. that close.” Stretch admits in the silence. “Seems like just yesterday Blue was taking his first steps… us older brothers have it tough, huh?”

“... yeah.” Red sighs,“Seems like we just celebrated Boss’s first level. Now he’s on his ninth… they grow up so fast.” 

“Um.. yeah.” He really didn’t want to hear his future brother in law was a cold blooded murderer. Even after Red told him about their universe he really didn’t want to think about such things… The reminder that this ‘peace’ was a rarity for the Fells, just made Red feel further away...

“After Boss told me he’s keeping the brat, he said he was going to move out. Said he doesn’t want to end up like me. Heh. So we haven’t been talking since that argument.”

“...Sucks.” Stretch cupped his cold breath into his hands, but only smelled his own tart breath. “Whats wrong with ending up like you? - You’re doing okay, aren’t ya? I haven’t been over there… but sounds like you guys have the same house more or less right?” 

“Yeah… just without the tacky christmas lights and welcome mat. ...Inside is a bit colder. Less furniture, some broken floorboards. Our kitchen is ten times better than yours though… Boss loves to cook.”

“Way better than my bro… thats for sure. So why’s Edge hate that?” 

“He doesn’t hate the house… he hates me, or rather our world. Ya know? … Something about having an innocent kid to protect has roused up his maternal bullshit.. He doesn’t want to force the kid to level like we had to. … Blue’s convinced him that survival isn’t a luxury.” 

“Its not.”

“Jeez… you brothers sound the same. Spouting bs like that while you're cozy in your saccharine world.” Red stretches his back out and lies down uncomfortably between the first and second step. “Boss yelled at me, blamed me for making him level. Blamed me for killing. … Like it was a choice we ever had. … Its like, meeting you two erased our own history. Our struggles… Our wins… our failures… he’s acting like they were something I forced on him. … rather than what I did to protect us.” Red goes quiet again. His ribcage sinks with the weight of his words. 

At this point Stretch can’t just ignore the mention of death and murder. He’d wanted to avoid this for as long as possible, but catching Red while he was chatty was a rarity. Stretch scoots closer to the skeleton and casually lowers his hand, brushing it against Reds digits. 

“... Is it really all- kill, murder, stab, death-like … in your world? I mean… when the humans not on a genocide path, do all residents just… ya know? Murder? ...like… if you go down to the grocery do you still have to pay? Or is it a death battle for a loaf of bread? I mean… how do you even live in cities if everyone is constantly fighting? What about neighbors? Children? How do you-” 

  
  


“Honey.” Red interrupts him, and Stretch has to stop and wonder if that’s his nickname or if its because they’re a couple. “Instead of asking, do you just want to come see it yourself?” Red stands up from the stairs and throws his hood on over his head. The fur lined hoodie casts his face in shadow and the only thing that stands out about him is his eyes and the glint of his teeth. 

It makes him look dangerous. Its a side that Stretch has yet to face, a part of Red that they never discuss. Red literally was opening up his life to him. This was a huge step forward, but Stretch wasn’t sure he wanted to go forward in this direction. But this was his first and probably only chance to get closer to Red. So he puts out his cigarette on the heel of his sneaker and stands up too. “Lets go.” 

~*~*~*~

‘Nervous’ couldn’t even begin to describe what Stretch felt churning in his chest. When Red opened up the hatch door, their version of the machine creaked with neglect. The basement was dark and cluttered with boxes and unused exercize equipment.Red had to shuffle his junk around to courteously clear a path for Stretch.

“Been meaning to get this cleaned…” Red mumbled as he kicked over another crate. Stretch hovered by the machine door and hung back. It was a bit daunting to be in a different universe. The ride over made his head swarm with something that felt like a nightmare. For a moment he could have sworn he was Fell. Like his whole life flashed before his eyes and then disappeared, it left a weird gaping hole in his memory. 

“Oh, right. You must be feeling sick… Sometimes the timelines will sync up for a bit. It doesn’t seem to have a universal affect, and it doesn't last long. Do you want some water?” 

Stretch just barely shakes his head, opening his mouth wouldn’t be a good idea right now. Spaghetti tacos didn’t sit well in his stomach to begin with and now they threatened to come right back up. 

As if sensing his distress Red grabs a garbage can and offers it to him. They spend the next ten minutes on the floor, waiting as a wave of nausea comes and goes. Stretch clutches the basket to his chest and groans at every hiccup and cough that bubbles up through his ribcage. 

Eventually Red speaks up again. “Just puke already… You’ll feel better.” 

Stretch shakes his head again. It was just a comfort to hold the cold wastebasket. Soon his stomach would settle and he waited for that to be the case. 

“Boss was the same way… he didn’t want to humiliate himself. But he ended up puking all over your backyard. Me? I’ve gone to a couple of these places to get the machine working right… so its kinda normal.”

“..Norm-?hupp!” Stretch keels over the bucket again, but its another false alarm. He winces his eyes shut and slouches up again. 

“Yeah, normal.” Red continues, speaking enough for both of them. “Sharing memories with the Sans’s of the universe is kind of like getting bit by a fly. It doesn’t bother me anymore. The memories come and go easily enough with each jump to another universe but emotions stay. I think thats what causes the sickness. Like being hit with twenty years of emotional trauma in a fraction of a second.”

Wait… was that why he felt sick right now? Emotional trauma? Stretch bit his tongue. Something about that seemed right. For a brief, brief, moment he felt like he knew everything about Edgy. As if they were the same person. Every birthday, every conversation, every routine… but Stretch can’t recall a single detail. He just knows right now he feels really… really depressed. Like he did something wrong and he can’t describe it in words.

Stretch cautiously glances at Red but he’s oblivious. Still chatty, despite never opening up to him before, now he won’t stop. It's somewhat a relief to hear his voice. 

“Heh… after a while I stopped getting sick. So I used to think I’d been through the worst, so nothing else could affect me.I’ve been to a place called horrortale and I didn’t even flinch. But coming to your place always makes me wanna vomit. Its kinda weird. I've been wanting to run some tests for a while but Boss won’t let me stick any equipment on him and my data would be skewed if I just used myself as a base.”

The feeling of nausea had passed but Stretch was compelled to hear more. He clung to the bucket only as a tool to get Red to talk more about himself and his work. Nodding his head, he let Red talk for as long as he wanted. 

The basement was safe for them and Stretch wasn’t yet sure of the horrors that lied outside in this world. If they could stay here forever… that might be okay too. 

“Whelp, we should hurry and get going. Boss and Blue are bound to notice we’re gone soon.” 

Go? No. Stretch shook his head and leaned over the garbage can again. Despite asking about this world he didn’t really want to visit it. This whole place was kill or be killed right? There was no way the two could just… stroll around and tour the city. He shook his head again, pretending to be sick but Red pulled the bucket from him. 

“Come on, some fresh air will help.” Red urged. 

Reluctantly Stretch had to stand with Red and leave the basement. Red held open the door for him and the ice cold wind of Snowdin whooshed into the room, blowing around loose papers and chilling Papyrus. He felt it surround his ribs in an instant and suddenly his usual sweater felt thin. No wonder Red always wore that heavy jacket… but then why did Edgy walk out with his hips exposed? He shuddered against the cold and braced himself for another cold gust of wind. Red headed out first. Then, with a deep breath, Stretch did too. Preparing himself for the worst.

But Snowdin wasn’t the criminal rampant place he’d imagined. It looked… warm and inviting. The same snow bunny neighbor was still there but she was dressed in a striped red and black shirt and jumpsuit. The two watch her pass. Red even waves to her and she waves back. 

Friendly neighbors… Stretch notes. He didn’t expect that. He looks around quickly at the barren trees. In Underswap the trees were always green all year round and kids dressed them up with ornaments and folded wishes, here the trees were barren. Not a single leaf in sight but they didn’t look intimidating. Hammocks had been strung from tree to tree and there was even ribbon and looped rope decorating branches. There was even a stage for a festival…. with a large guillotine. Um.. 

He walks a bit closer to Red.

~*~*~*~

“Hey Red…?”

“What.” The stop for the umpteenth time as Stretch points to a foreign thing and asks what it is. Red puffs up his sweater as they come to a halt and he looks. It’s weird for Red to follow the direction of the pointed index finger because he had to try and guess what was the problem for Stretch. Everything looked normal to Red. This was the way his world has always been, but he tries to be patient and explain everything to Stretch. 

So he peers over in the direction Stretch is discreetly pointing at. “Oh. That’s a paper machine. You put in a quarter and it drops the newspaper-”

“Not that. I mean… _ that _ .” 

Red shifted again. “The bulletin board?”

“Looks like a bounty board in a movie.” 

That was exactly what it was. The tattered pictures that hung from the cork board were stamped with the official crown seal and numbered with a reward on the bottom. 

“Why’s Fell’s picture on it?” 

Sans raised his brow. There was no way Boss’s picture was on it~ but it was… He couldn’t answer Stretch right now. He felt compelled to walk towards the portrait and read it straight from the board. 

“Papyrus… traitor to royal guard. Reward in the amount of 500,000 gold.” Half a mil… Sans took a step back, the wind kicked out of him suddenly. The royal seal had stamped and approved it. No other information was there. Just the giant letters at the bottom “Wanted Dead or alive.” No… that was impossible. There was no way that Boss was… a criminal?

“...We have to go.” 

“What did you say? Why are you so nervous, Red?”

“We have to go NOW!” Sans grabbed his hand and bolted past the crowds. There was an indistinct shrill cry of ‘look~ There he is!’ and ‘death to the traitor!’ that whizzed past their ears. Sans panicked now. Stretch looked similar to Boss, but any sane monster could tell the two apart just by seeing the straightened teeth and smooth bones. But a mob was different, they wouldn’t stop until they saw blood and they wouldn’t care who they got it from. 

Sans hurried to the house. “We have to get back to the machine!” He urged. 

“What? Why~! Whats going on?” Sans kept pulling Stretch by the hand, helping him to safety… until a spear struck the path in front of them. Sans stopped running immediately and Stretch bumped into his back. 

“Captain…” Sans murmured, his fear is suddenly replaced with urgency. “Undyne! Why are the guard hunting Boss now?! He’d never betray the kingdom he’s- !!“

But Undyne wasn’t listening. She took one look at Stretch and knew she could use his skull to earn that 50 grand. It was similar enough. Hell- she could crack the skull and sharpen the teeth after the punk was dead. No one would be the wiser. 

She lifted up her spear again~ Sans barely had enough time to see the killing intent in her stature~ and she striked. 

~*~*~*~

When Undyne met with them, Stretch had no idea the normally timid royal scientist would be throwing a spear at him. His instinct was to flinch and swing out his hands - as if this were a baseball he could block from hitting himself. He closed his eyes and didn’t expect to be saved, but Red was already lining up a counter attack. 

“Dont lookaway!” Sans yells, smacking away a spear with a conjured femur bone in hand. He easily deflects anything she tries to throw past sans and use to harm Stretch. Sans is used to fighting for two. Stretch watches the beauty of their fight. Sans is on the defense, but he’s not letting a single attack through. How can he? It would mean death for both of them! Yet at the same time he is balancing his weight on his heels, throwing his complete strength into each and every bone construct. None of them last long. As soon as Undyne's spear comes in contact with a bone it shatters- but not before repelling her magic in an opposite direction. 

Sans wasn’t going to last long in a battle of strength or stamina. Stretch could already see the sweat dripping off his brow. Quickly he grabbed Reds arm and tried to take them someplace else. Any place else! He teleported quickly, not having a single destination in mind. Just somewhere the two of them didn’t have to fight or run!

He blinked, taking him and Red somewhere. 

But when he opened his eyes everything around them both was pitch black. The only way he knew he wasn’t dead was because he was firmly holding Sans’ hand in his. His soul jumped in elation, noticing the boney digits also clutching back… but that joy was short lived when Red started to yell. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? ARE YOU A FUCKING IDIOT??! ” 

Stretch paused in the dark, looking for the two glowing eyelights that flame angrily towards him. But what did he do wrong? “I…teleported us away from there???” Stretch felt suddenly defensive of his actions, though he didn’t know why. The heavy seething pant from Red made him thing that this was the last thing in the world Sans would have wanted. 

“You NEVER run away from battle!” Sans yelled. He curtly pulled his hand away from Stretch. “What?! Did you think I was weak!? That I couldn’t FIGHT BACK?!” Stretch found himself waving wildly in the air to say no, though Red would never see it. “Now you’ve made us look like cowards! You’ve made Boss look like a coward!!” 

“I didn’t think that-”

“--!! Of course you didn’t think! YOu never think! And once rumors spread about the Great and Terrible Papyrus running away from a fight~ then everyone will want to challenge us! Then everyone will start to think they have a chance! And Undyne~ Undyne attacked us!? She just -!! This is a mistake! Its has to be! We’ll go straight to the king and explain this mess! Comeon!”

Sans reaches in the darkness for PApyrus, dragging him by the shirt so they can leave but Stretch snaps back, breaking the contact. 

“Stretch? Why’d you do that? Comeon! We can’t waste time here! We have to get to the kingdom!!” Now that his eyes were adjusting Stretch noticed some strange mushrooms around them.

“Or… we can go home?” Stretch offered, politely. He cleared his throat, feeling bad about this but- “Well… this doesn’t really seem like my fight. And…. there's really no point to clear your names. I mean, … If Edgy really is settling down and having a kid with Blue… I dont think your bro wants to be here either. Can’t we just… go back to my place and watch a movie?”

There's an indignant gruffle in the darkness that Stretch can’t place. It sounded like Red was choking for a moment. 

“Boss’s reputation is ruined because some ass marked him as a traitor! And now you’ve marked him as a coward! We can’t just-”

“Let it go? … Red?” Stretch rubbed the arm of his shoulder, feeling a hole in the material. “I could have dusted back there Red. You too. We both only have 1 health. ..”

“Yeh? SO? You saying I’m WEAK?”

“No! Not at all~!! Its just…” Stretch’s voice became lower and his words turned into mumbles. He was the one who wanted to come here in first place, but now coming here seemed like a bad idea. The reputation the Fells had built seemed to be drug through the dirt and Stretch really would rather be home than have monsters randomly try to attack him. 

“Good! So we’ll go see the king!” Sans decided for them and grabbed Papyrus’s wrist in his own. “Don't worry Paps, nothing will happen to you. Big bro will take care of it.”

“Um… Red, you know I’m not-”

“Pfft. Yeah I know. Shut up. I was joking! It's a joke. Shut up.” Sans pulled him by the hoodie along a mushroom lit path that Sans seemed to be familiar with. Soon there was a sound of drippings from the stalactites above them and a stream of light from the end of the road. 

Nervously, Stretch stepped out into the faint light. It felt safer than standing in the shadows, at least now he had a faint sense of where everything was. Some water dripped down the side of his skull, but he followed Sans and put his hoodie up. Then the two of them stopped in the middle of the path. Stretch was about to ask what was wrong when the smaller skeleton pointed at the edge of the horizon. 

Stretch followed the finger, crooning his neck to quint into the dark. Then he saw it, the giant kingdom in the distance. It was painted black and red and tapestries of war draped the outside of it. It looked completely camouflaged from this distance. 

Stretch whistled, apparently he was on this journey whether he wanted to be or not. “So… are we going to walk there… or do you have a shortcut ready?”

“Can’t shortcut in.” Sans stares at the magnificent towers. “There's a barrier inside those walls. The same one your world has that blocks monsters from going to the surface, but ours is a bit more volatile. It sucks the magic from anyone within a 100 meters. If i just teleport in, I can’t teleport us out.” 

“Uh..huh. So… why are we going to the spooky castle where we can’t even use magic?”

“I have to talk to King Asgore.” 

“Trippy…” Stretch whispers. “Wait… so the monster guarding the ruins in snowdin is… Queen Toriel?”

“Ex- Queen Toriel. They broke up.” Red starts to walk ahead again, leaving Stretch to play catch up. There was still so many things new to him in this world that took him by surprise. He couldn’t help but stare at the something every ten seconds- much to Reds annoyance. But for Stretch, this renewed his curiosity in this world. Hardly anyone was in the caves and for the first time Stretch was having fun exploring. It felt like a real adventure!

The mushrooms hung in large stalks that twisted around themselves like vines. Red said not to poke em but Stretch was already doing so with a stick. The signs in Underfell were written in a different language than his home world. Sans explained that no one can read that junk- it was old text and an old sign. And curiously, Papyrus felt the need to take a picture of it. There was a door in the middle of the caves that Stretch pointed at with an inkling of a question and Sans literally speared it with an onslaught of bone attacks both orange and blue to keep Stretch from touching it, or asking questions about it. 

Sometimes there were faces drawn in the bricks lining the walls and Stretch had to stop and look at the sandstone to figure out how someone carved such a scary face in the brick. Creepy. They slid down a few boulders of rock and had a small ambitious bird awkwardly carry them over a tiny puddle of water. Sans spoke to a group of Froggit for directions and they didn’t seem particularly interested in a fight. This area seemed calm and the locals were friendly enough.

There were new animals in this version of the underground, something Papyrus became infatuated with capturing and bringing home. Animals he’d only seen in textbooks were living here among the rocks. Moles and moths and tiny frogs and giant unfriendly spiders. Sans warned him that their small bite hurt worse than getting limb torn off… so Papyrus respectfully gave each of the cave spiders a lot of personal space when he saw them. 

The ceiling was decorated with the same glowing rock in his world, but it was scarce and few between. Instead, bluish green slugs lit the ceiling and their poop lit the path like it was made of diamonds. Diamond poop. Stretch giggled, only for Sans to shush him. 

Stretch took that very seriously now, fearing for his life he got low to the ground and looked around himself. Should he summon a bone? Should he wait for Sans to protect them both? He couldn’t see anyone in the dark- and now he realized the stone faces were meant to deceive monsters so anyone can hide among the faces. Stretch couldn’t tell what was wall and what was a person. He gulped in his throat and whispered to Sans. “Who's attacking us?”

“No one, your talking to much. Shhh.”

Stretch stood up straight and his eyelights disappeared from his skull completely. He didn’t like this adventure anymore. 

Why was he even doing this? It's not like him and Red were a couple… Stretch had absolutely no reason to be here! Yup! And Edgy thought the same thing! That's why Edgy wanted to settle in Underswap! Its safer ~ and monsters aren’t mean and tell Stretch to shut up! 

Sure… having Edgy as a brother-in-law wasn’t ideal… but… it was better than tracking down a king to repeal some dumb mistake? It's not like this bounty affected the Fells. They could live in Underswap if they wanted, Stretch didn’t mind. It was safer than being here… 

Besides, Blue and Edgy were apparently a couple. Stretch still had strong feelings about that… and he wanted to talk to his brother about safe sex… though it was a bit late for that since Edgy was already a bit late. Heh. 

Even the humor couldn’t make Stretch feel any better. He can’t believe their younger brothers hooked up. Red won't even touch his hand and he’s so aloof that Stretch barely hears a word from him. He thought if he stayed by Red’s side long enough the monster would start to open up… but Stretch wasn’t sure it was worth it. Red was acting more cold to him here, this place changes a monster. After and hour of trodding the muddy caves Papyrus was just about done. That's it! He would put his foot down and go home! Even if it meant going without Red~!

“This part is slippery - hold my hand so you don't fall, honey.” Red outstretched his hand towards him, emulating the same grace and dignity as a prince that bowed before asking a lady to dance. For a moment, Stretch swore he saw that figure. Red looked dashing in this dim light. His eyes glowed with a certain level of danger, it was an exciting flash of dominance and control… he glowed with confidence here. 

Stretch forgot what he was going to say… but he gleefully took Red’s hand in his own. 

It felt like he was walking on clouds, holding Sans’ hand was the best magic there was. His soul felt like it was beating 1000 times faster against his ribs. Actually… his soul had dropped to a different place. He tried to breathe calmly and he willed his soul to float back in place where it belonged. Nervous, he turned and gave Red a small smile. He didn’t notice did he?! Stretch faced forward again and glowed orange with embarrassment. His mind was in other places, so he didn’t notice when he missed a step and slid down the path- unfortunately dragging along Red. They stumbled down a couple feet before Red regained his balance and stopped their fall. Stars, Red was strong…!! He pulled Stretch up with a small heckle. “Told you it was slippery.” 

~*~*~*~  


Red didn’t let go of his hand once on their trip throughout the Underfell undergrounds. He was dashing, cool, smart, and sparked with an edge of mystery and danger. Stretch was lovestruck to see his crush in his natural element. The way he carried himself, confident with a brisk walk and a scowl at any on looking monster was already flipping a switch for Stretch… paired with the fact that Red was being over protective and pulling him everywhere made it an instant KO. 

Stretch had never seen Red for more than the nervous and sweaty bundle of nerves he always showed… his true self. It was a version of Red who was paranoid that nothing in Underswap was going to jump out and bludgeon him to death. It was cause for alarm and made Stretch think that maybe everything isn't okay here in this fucked up au. But in an actual situation where bludgeoning a monster was normal and everyone openly brandished their hostility, Red thrived. 

He knew exactly what to deal with here. He didn’t have the fear that lowering his guard would put him in danger. He looked exhausted, second guessing everyone’s kindness… But here, he just never lowered his guard. There was no need to. He wore a battle hardened expression, devoid of emotion. It was a front he was putting up in his own world that boasted power and anger. It intimidated the lesser monsters into cowering… and Stretch was awfully turned on. 

“It isn’t much farther.” Red spoke. “Your going to have to ditch that sweater... and act like Boss.” 

Stretch tut his teeth together, there was little he could say to change Reds mind with this conflict so he went along with it. Quickly he pulled his sweater off over his head and folded it within his arms. Underneath he wore a black t-shirt that he had slept in and had a stain of toothpaste but it wasn’t too obvious in these dark and narrow passageways. 

“Ditch it.” Red says again, sharply this time, and Stretch wonders where he can put his sweater. Just temporarily. He gets to his knees and starts to carve out a shallow spot on the floor, just enough to slip his sweater into- and drop a rock on top of. 

This cavern looked like all the others… but maybe he could come back here and retrieve it when Red wasn’t being such a bossy hot stubborn mess. 

He stood back up, wiped the dirt of his pants, and buckled in for a ride with crazy on this never ending quest to reclaim some stupid honor. Meanwhile Red looked dead serious and somehow aggravated. He was tapping his heel, wondering how long it takes for Stretch to abandon the sweater. 

“Good. Stand up straight now.” Red demanded, “Be angry.” 

Stretch, stretched out. Cracking his usually slouched spine and trying to adhere to this new posture that somehow hurt his back worse than just hunching over. He palmed the front of his shirt for his hoodie pockets and failed when he wiped dirt onto the apparel. Kind of felt naked without his sweater. 

“Angrier!” Red hissed. 

Stretch tried to manage ‘angry’ he grit his jaw together like he’d seen Edge do when he was fed up but he couldn’t pull off the same look. This world was just too fascinating to pass up the chance to explore… but there was also the looming threat of death hot on their heels. Worry was more of a reasonable expression. Nervousness about this temporary peace… oh. Now he sees why Red is always sweaty.

“...That's not good at all. Guess we’ll play it another way.” Mumblings fill the silence as Red trails off and starts muttering some things he can do once he gets an audience with the king. 

“ Hey… uh… Red?” Stretch really didn’t want to interrupt the crazy ramblings but if he was going to be a participant in this adventure it would be useful to be on the same page. “How exactly are you going to tell the king to… pardon you two?”

“A fight.” 

“...of course.” Stretch groaned. “And how are we supposed to fight the king?”

“...to the death!” 

Somehow, Stretch didn’t think this was going to work out. He wondered briefly what his brother was doing…. And uh… who he was doing. He’d yet to talk to Edgy and Blue about this new and troubling relationship. He thought he and Red would step out for a few minutes…. But a couple hours had passed since they began this journey. Would it be… rude to pop back home and grab a snack? Nothing was really in his way of returning home. 

“... Hey Red, are you hungry?”

“You can eat the dirt to fill your stomach temporarily… it’ll stave off hunger for a few hours unless you vomit.” 

“...Fuck Red. What the hell?” Stretch stopped following him for a minute, prompting the shorter skeleton to spin around on his foot and yell. But Stretch wasn’t listening. Maybe… Red being confident and sexy here… also came with the fact he was a bit too fucking hardcore and this world was traumatic. They should go back to Swap. 

Stretch was the adult here… he could make the decision on his own. Even as his angry small boyfriend was lecturing him about staying close and following, Stretch had decided to move forward with his plan. He put a hand on Red’s shoulder and teleported them back to the outside of the Fells house. 

Red screeched angrily- looking around their new surroundings in a panic. 

“What are you doing! DOnt teleporT !Us ?!”

“... I’m going home.” Stretch sighs. “Look… you should come with me. Talk to your brother and, ya know, ask if he wants to live here? I dont think it's good for either of you. I mean… it's nice to see you so…  _ controlling  _ and  _ confident  _ Red. But, I just want to hang out and have fun together… do we really have to go on this covert mission and… kill the king? Isn’t it time you talked to your brother?”

“Fuck no!” 

“Red! He’s starting a family!” Stretch through his arms out in exasperation. “You have to talk to him! Maybe he doesn’t  _ want  _ to come back here! Maybe YOU shouldn’t come back here! Do you really want to fight a king? Kill a king!? … … Why can’t we just… go home and watch tv?

Red’s eye twitches. 

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know if any tags/warnings are missing! Thank you for reading!!


End file.
